1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dental drill guide system and, in particular, relates to a dental drill guide system including a handpiece guide that interfaces with a custom or patient-specific surgical guide.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dental implants are commonly used as anchoring members in prosthodontic restorations to provide prosthetic teeth at one or more edentulous sites in a patient's dentition at which the patient's original natural teeth have been lost or damaged. Typically, known implant systems include a dental implant made from a suitable biocompatible material, such as titanium. The dental implant is typically threaded into a bore which is drilled into the patient's mandible or maxilla at the edentulous site. The implant provides an anchoring member for a dental abutment, which in turn provides an interface between the implant and a dental restoration. The restoration is typically a porcelain crown fashioned according to known methods to replicate the shape of the tooth being replaced
Many dental implant surgeries are performed in two stages. In the initial or first stage, an incision is made in the patient's gingiva at an edentulous site, and a bore is drilled into the patient's mandible or maxilla at the edentulous site, followed by threading or impacting a dental implant into the bore using a suitable driver. Thereafter, a cap is fitted onto the implant to close the abutment coupling structure of the implant, and the gingiva is sutured over the implant. Over a period of several months, the patient's jaw bone grows around and/or into the implant to securely anchor the implant in the surrounding bone, a process known as osseointegration.
In a second stage of the procedure following osseointegration, the dentist surgically reopens the gingiva at the implant site and secures an abutment and optionally, a temporary prosthesis or temporary healing member, to the implant. Then, a suitable permanent prosthesis or crown is fashioned, such as from one or more impressions taken of the abutment and the surrounding gingival tissue and dentition. In the final stage, the temporary prosthesis or healing member is removed and replaced with the permanent prosthesis, which is attached to the abutment with cement or with a fastener, for example.
If the patient has more than one tooth missing, multiple implants may be used to provide anchorage for a denture bar, a bridge, or other prosthodontic appliance.
To drill holes in the jawbone of a patient, an oral surgeon may use a drill guide, which is typically formed as a custom patient-specific appliance that overlays the drill site and at least a portion of the surrounding gum tissue and/or dentition. The drill guide includes a hole aligned along the intended drill axis, and one or more removable drill guide tubes may be positioned within the drill guide hole to allow drills of different diameters to be used in succession for drilling the holes in the jawbone in which the implants will be secured.
What is needed is a method that is an improvement on the foregoing.